My Thoughts: The Truth About Alice

4 fudgy brownies.

Cover Love:  Yes.  It's very eye catching and thought provoking.

Why I Wanted to Read This:
The synopsis made me want to read this one.  Here it is from GoodReads:

Everyone has a lot to say about Alice Franklin, and it’s stopped mattering whether it’s true. The rumors started at a party when Alice supposedly had sex with two guys in one night. When school starts everyone almost forgets about Alice until one of those guys, super-popular Brandon, dies in a car wreck that was allegedly all Alice’s fault. Now the only friend she has is a boy who may be the only other person who knows the truth, but is too afraid to admit it. Told from the perspectives of popular girl Elaine, football star Josh, former outcast Kelsie, and shy genius Kurt, we see how everyone has a motive to bring – and keep – Alice down.

Romance?: Not really, but several relationships are hashed out during the course of the book.

My Thoughts:
This author did a great job finding the voices of the various characters who tell the story.  I especially loved Elaine's voice (but not her character).  She talked the way that teens do, the author nailed this one!

This is such a powerful book about rumors.  One boy says something about one girl and EVERYONE takes it as truth.  Just recently I had this conversation with a few kids from my youth group about rumors and unless you have seen it happen with your own eyes, it is just a rumor. Even if the person swears up and down it happened to them or they did it, unless you have seen it, it might not be true.   Don't spread it around!  But I have to admit I am guilty of this as well and I would assume almost everyone else is!

I truly enjoyed the end chapter where Alice finally told her story, however, we had heard enough of the story from everyone else that hers didn't make as big of an impact on me as expected.

I was very glad that the author didn't wrap this up with a nice and tidy bow, but that some things got resolved, people started moving on and life just kept going.  I think the one who will have the hardest time moving on, though, is Josh.  He has some hard truths he needs to face, about who he is and what he said after the wreck.  He truly has amends to make to many.

This was just such a good slice of life story.  Poor Alice was just a means to telling everyone else's story.  You get the feeling that she will be okay, almost the most okay of anyone, especially if she gets out of that town.

To Sum Up:  While this might be a little too mature for my middle school library, I think it's a very powerful book that can teach a good lesson to many teens!

egalley requested and received from Macmillan via NetGalley.  Thanks!